本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
TEM8 GMAT
外刊例句
- These firms generate much of their income in Ireland, inflating its GDP, but funnel that money to their headquarters (or shell companies) abroad.
这些公司的大部分收入都在爱尔兰产生，从而推高了爱尔兰的 GDP ，但收入的这些钱却流向了它们的海外总部（或空壳公司）。
——《经济学人》 - Prosecutors have said Brian Benjamin, the former lieutenant governor of New York, planned to funnel state money to a developer in exchange for campaign donations.
检察官称，纽约州前副州长布莱恩·本杰明计划将州资金输送给一位开发商，以换取竞选捐款。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[noun] a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening
[名词] 一种上宽下窄的管，用于将液体或粉末导入小开口中
深入解读
从词源上来看， funnel 一词源自拉丁语 infundere （倒入），先后经拉丁语 infundibulum （磨坊中的漏斗或料斗）的缩短词 fundibulum 和中古法语 funell, fonel 最早于15世纪进入英语，也是用来表示“漏斗”，即一种通常上宽下窄且上部为圆锥体下部为细长管的器具，用于将液体或粉末导入小开口中。比如：
- 磨好咖啡后，用漏斗将其倒入罐中。
After you grind the coffee, use a funnel to pour it into the jar.
进而 funnel 也被用来表示“漏斗状物”以及轮船、蒸汽机车等上用于排烟或通风的“烟囱”。比如：
- 一艘有三根桅杆和两个烟囱的用蒸汽推进的商船
a merchantman propelled by steam with three masts and two funnels
等到了1594年后， funnel 开始用作动词使用，先是从形状上拓展指“（使）成漏斗状”或者如漏斗般“逐渐变狭窄或开阔”。然后从功能上引申指“（使）流经漏斗或狭窄空间”或者“（使）经过漏斗形口子”。比如：
- 风从北方吹来，刮过高原，穿过山谷。
The winds came from the north, across the plateaus, funnelling down the valley. - 如果你用漏斗往发动机里注油，就不太可能洒出来。
If you funnel the oil into the engine, you're less likely to spill it.
从这个概念出发， funnel 常用来引申指“使汇集、使集中”以及“输送、传送”，常意味通过某个狭窄的通道将各处的金钱、货物、信息、资源等集中或输送到某处。比如：
- 没人知道是谁一直在向恐怖分子输送武器。
No one knows who has been funnelling weapons to the terrorists. - 这位勤奋努力的女运动员把一切精力集中在事业上。
The industrious female athlete funnelled all her efforts into her career.
权威用例
随后联邦政府通过大量采购新冠疫苗，直接向制药企业输送利益，造成美国疫苗大量囤积浪费。
The federal government then funneled interests directly to pharmaceutical companies by purchasing large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines, resulting in massive hoarding and waste of vaccines in the United States.
出自《2021年美国侵犯人权报告》（The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2021）。
同近义词
- conduit: a channel for conveying water or other fluid
- pipe: a tube used to convey water, gas, oil, or other fluid substances
- tube: a long, hollow cylinder of metal, plastic, glass, etc. for holding or transporting something, chiefly liquids or gase
